


gay kids' sports club

by sadeyebrow



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Sports, Bad Parenting, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Football | Soccer, M/M, Trans Male Character, trans sesshoumaru
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2018-12-16 01:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11818560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadeyebrow/pseuds/sadeyebrow
Summary: part one:Sesshoumaru's father forgets to pick his eight-year-old up after soccer practice. A teammate keeps Sesshoumaru company.part two:gay high school au





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> that title is. definitely a wip lmao. maybe i'll fix it later, but honestly it's a refreshing change from my other one word, "takes self too seriously" fic titles  
> im posting this here so someone other than dheerse can read it, if they want that. have fun kiddos

The wind blew fierce and cold, pushing dark grey clouds over the horizon. Hiro looked up at the sky as the coach finished her speech, welcoming a new team on the first day of the season. There were many children here that Hiro recognized, friends who had been his teammates in previous seasons, but there were others he didn’t know yet. Casting an eye over the group of children assembled on the field, he observed that roughly half were unfamiliar faces. The young boy hoped he could be friends with everyone by the time the season ended. He was a friendly child, and it was in his nature to want to get to know everyone. The other children disbanded when the coach dismissed them, going to the parking lot to greet their parents or going to the playground nearby and to wait to be picked up. Hiro went along to the playground, listening to some of his friends as they talked about next week’s soccer practice. Further away from the others, a lone child stood leaning against a tree. Hiro watched him for a moment, wondering why he didn’t come join the rest of them as they played and waited for their parents.

Most of the children had already taken off their soccer cleats, and were running on the soft sand of the playground in their socks or bare feet. Hiro kept his things in a neat pile by the slide, forgotten as he played with the others. One by one, the children left as they were picked up by parents or older siblings. He waved goodbye as the last of his friends left the playground, interrupting a game of tag. Hiro sat down on the slide and reached over to grab his things. Turning, he saw the other child was in the same position as he had last seen him. Hiro had never spoken to him much, in fact he didn’t think any of his teammates had either. But he seemed nice, and (Hiro began to feel a blush creep up)  he was very pretty. Hiro decided it was a good day to make a new friend.

Gathering his things, Hiro walked over to the tree.

“Hello!” The other child turned to face him as he introduced himself, eyebrows furrowing slightly.

“My name is Hiro!” he said, feeling awkward.

“I know,” the other boy replied. He was very quiet.

“Oh.” Hiro let the silence fill the air for a moment, then continued. “What’s your name? Your dad said it was Yu-”

“It’s Sesshoumaru,” his companion interrupted harshly. Hiro was a little taken aback at the sudden change in mood, or maybe Sesshoumaru always talked like this. He didn’t know, but Hiro didn’t mind. “My name is Sesshoumaru.”

“Oh okay! That’s a really cool name, I wish I had a name like that. Instead I’m just called Hiro. Not even Hiroka or Hiromi or anything. My dad says that it’s because my mom was uncreative when she was naming me. What’s the reason for your name?”

“I thought it sounded cool.”

Hiro turned to the smaller boy. “No way! You picked your own name? That’s so cool, I’ve only _heard_ of people doing that. Did your parents just call you ‘baby’ until you were old enough to talk? How did you pick that one? Did they let you pick _any_ name you wanted? If I was allowed to choose my own name I’d wanna be named after a superhero or something. But my dad says that’s why I’m not allowed to pick my name, because he doesn't wanna call me ‘superman.’” He kept babbling on like this, stopping abruptly when he noticed. People were always telling him he was talking too much.

It was quiet for another long moment before Sesshoumaru opened his mouth and said “No, I just want to be called Sesshoumaru.” Hiro thought that reply didn’t answer a single one of his questions, but it was still really neat nevertheless. He sat down, placing his things at the base of the tree.

“Have you ever played on the team before? I didn’t see you last year but maybe you were on a different team.”

Sesshoumaru looked down at him and noticed Hiro sitting. Almost reluctantly, Sesshoumaru took a seat on the grass. After he was settled, he looked up at Hiro again and shook his head.

“No.”

“Really? Well you’re really good for someone who hasn’t played!” Almost immediately, Hiro caught his error. “Um, you’re also really good in general. There’s some people on the team who’ve played soccer since they were really little and you’re better than them too!” Hiro hoped that would smooth over quickly. His father was always telling him he said too many things without thinking. Maybe Sesshoumaru wouldn’t hear his mistake.

“Mh,” Sesshoumaru looked away and started idly pulling blades of grass out of the ground. Maybe he was just shy, thought Hiro.

The grass pile Sesshoumaru made was slowly growing. Hiro plucked a daisy growing by his foot and placed it on the pile. Sesshoumaru looked up at him.

“It’s for you,” Hiro explained. He watched as Sesshoumaru examined the daisy, picking it up and passing it from one hand to the other.

“Why?” Hiro almost missed him say it.

“Why not?” Hiro’s answer seemed too simple, even for a child. “I wanna be your friend, and friends give each other flowers sometimes.”

Sesshoumaru’s mood seemed to change at that. He looked confused, then his expression shifted to placated and content. He sat back against the tree, flower still in hand.

“Okay,” Sesshoumaru looked from the flower up to Hiro, then back to the flower again. “Okay, we can be friends.” Hiro was thrilled. A huge grin broke out on his face as he described all the ways the new pair were going to have fun at upcoming soccer practices. As he was talking, he saw a ghost of a smile flicker across Sesshoumaru’s face, and decided that he wanted to see his new friend smile more often. He started telling Sesshoumaru about his house and surrounding neighborhood, extending an open invitation to come visit. He was in the middle of describing the treehouse in his neighbor’s yard (“It’s in a _huge_ tree, with a pretend kitchen and chairs and a window, and the walls are painted, and you gotta climb up a big ladder, and when I was really little I couldn’t reach the top,”) when he felt the first few raindrops hit. Turning his head up, Hiro saw dark clouds obscuring the late afternoon sun. Suddenly he wished he had an umbrella.

“It’s raining,” Sesshoumaru observed.

“Yeah, I hope our parents come to pick us up soon. If my dad shows up first I’ll ask him if we can drive you home. Also who’s coming to get you? Is it your mom or your dad? Or are you like Naomi and have an older brother pick you up? I wonder what happens if nobody comes to get us-” As Hiro was about to elaborate on how he didn’t want to sleep outside tonight, Sesshoumaru interrupted him.

“My father is supposed to come get me.”

“Oh cool, mine too! What kind of car are you looking for?”

“Mmh, I think it’s red. And you can put the roof down” There was something about Sesshoumaru’s posture that had changed as soon as he brought up his father, although Hiro barely noticed.

“Wow, he drives one of those fancy cars? My dad says he wants one of those one day. But he better not have the roof down now otherwise he’ll get wet!” As if on cue, the rain went from a light drizzle to a downpour. Sesshoumaru looked up, as if fascinated by the water. Hiro scooted closer to the tree and brought out his coat. He looked to Sesshoumaru, uncertain.

“If your dad didn’t give you a jacket, you can share mine. It's big but he says I'll grow into it.” He shuffled over to the other boy with the jacket outstretched. Sesshoumaru didn’t move to take it, he didn’t move at all. He stayed completely still as this strange new friend draped half his coat over his shoulders. Hiro held the fabric up to form a kind of makeshift tent and leaned against Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru tensed momentarily, then relaxed as Hiro began speaking again.

“You know, I hope the rain stops soon. I don’t mind getting rained on but I hate feeling cold.” Pressed up against Sesshoumaru the way he was, Hiro wasn’t cold at all. In fact his face was beginning to feel rather warm. His friend was comfortably warm too, a nice temperature, and Hiro decided that he rather liked being huddled next to him.

“I wonder how long our dads are gonna be.”

The two of them listened to the sound of the rain for a while before Sesshoumaru spoke up. “My father might not be coming.”

Hiro tilted his head to look at him. “Wait what? That’s no good! Why not?”

Sesshoumaru’s voice was quiet, and he had turned his head to look at the ground. “He forgets sometimes. Him and my stepmother Izayoi. They have a baby to take care of now, so I have to do things by myself sometimes.”

Hiro frowned. He didn't know much about step parents or younger siblings, but he thought parents should at least be there to pick up their eight year olds from soccer practice.

“If he hasn't come by now,” Sesshoumaru continued, “he probably forgot.”

Hiro was appalled. The idea of forgetting your child was something unheard of for him.

“But how would you get home?” he demanded, more than slightly concerned.

“I think I'll just walk,” Sesshoumaru replied, although he made no motion to stand up and leave. Hiro could sense his reluctance. Clutching at the sleeve of his jacket, Hiro insisted he would make sure his own father  got Sesshoumaru home. Sesshoumaru was quiet, unwilling to make eye contact, but Hiro could see him nodding.

“It won't be hard to convince him,” Hiro was saying. “”My dad's really nice. He wouldn't let you go home alone in the rain.”

The slightly bedraggled pair passed another few minutes like this, with Hiro talking about something and Sesshoumaru nodding and taking comfort in his constant stream of words. Eventually, Hiro caught sight of his father's van pulling into the parking lot. He turned to Sesshoumaru, excited.

“He's here!” Hiro stood up, leaving the jacket draped over Sesshoumaru's shoulders, and started waving and calling for his father. He jumped up a little, arms outstretched, hoping Sesshoumaru was watching him but not knowing why. When his father noticed him, he got out of the van and rummaged around in the trunk until he found an umbrella. Opening it, he walked over to where the two boys were waiting.

“Hello there, sorry I'm so late.” Hiro's father greeted them. “You two look a little damp. did you go for a swim?”

Hiro had to stifle a chuckle. “Da-ad,” he whined playfully.

“But I'm forgetting my manners! Who is your friend, Hiro? You meet her today?” He turned to Sesshoumaru. “You look like you need to dry off.”

“I'm a boy.” was Sesshoumaru's fierce, sullen response. Hiro could see Sesshoumaru physically tense up.

“My apologies!” Hiro's dad was sincere. Grownups, Hiro found himself thinking, weren't always on board with how little kids talked about themselves, but his dad seemed to be one of the good ones, he knew when a kid needed to be taken seriously.

“What's your name, son?”

But Sesshoumaru had shut down and wasn't answering any more of his questions. So Hiro stepped in.

“That's Sesshoumaru! I met him today and he's really nice and I want him to come over and visit later! Also can you drive him home because his dad forgot to get him and he shouldn't walk home in the rain.” Hiro's dad frowned when he heard how Sesshoumaru's father hadn't picked his son up.

“Well, that's no good.” His father said, echoing his words from earlier. “Do you have your dad's number, Sesshoumaru? We could give him a call and see where he is, and if we need to, I'll drive you home”

Sesshoumaru nodded, almost looking at Hiro's father. His dad handed Sesshoumaru his cell phone and Hiro watched as Sesshoumaru quickly typed in the number. As soon as it started ringing, the phone was passed back to his father. A little bit startled, Hiro's dad readied himself and put on his best concerned dad face. He was expecting Sesshoumaru to talk to his own dad, but why do that when there's a perfectly good adult to do the talking in front of you? As the phone continued to ring, Hiro could see Sesshoumaru had gone back to picking blades of grass and putting them on his grass pile. The flower he had given him lay in the center, with pieces of grass laid out around it. His new friend was clearly not interested in talking to grownups right now.

Over the sound of the rain, Hiro could hear a tinny voice through the speakers as Sesshoumaru's father picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Ah, hi, this is Sato Akio, I…” he trailed off. “no, I'm not trying to sell you anything, sir. I'm calling about your son? The one you're supposed to care for? He's been waiting at soccer practice for you for the past hour. I was just wondering if you were going to come get him.”

Hiro missed most of the response, but he thought he heard the sound of a baby crying over the phone.

“Sounds like you've got your hands full over there,” Akio was saying. “don't worry, I'll make sure your son gets home alright.” He hung up the phone and muttered “It's more than you can do, apparently.”

Turning back to the children, Hiro's dad said “Alright! Looks like we're driving Sesshoumaru home.” Hiro grinned. He loved when friends rode in his car.

“We've only got the one booster seat, but I won't tell the police if you don't.” His father was saying. Sesshoumaru was nodding seriously and his father smiled at him. The three of them walked to the van, kept dry under Akio’s large umbrella, and Hiro's dad helped them into their seats. As he was pulling out of the parking lot, he asked Sesshoumaru for his address and whistling when he told him.

“So you live in the really well-to-do part of town, huh? Tell your father congratulations for me”

During the drive, Hiro was uncharacteristically quiet. He spent most of the time watching Sesshoumaru, who was busy looking out the window. He was very pretty, Hiro thought. He wanted to say something, wanted to have Sesshoumaru’s attention again, but he didn’t want to disturb him. Sesshoumaru looked peaceful. He was very damp and in need of a dry towel, but peaceful.

As they pulled into Sesshoumaru’s cul-de-sac, Sesshoumaru broke the silence.

“Thanks for the ride, Mr Sato.” Sesshoumaru said, almost making eye contact. Turning to Hiro, he smiled and said “Bye Hiro. See you at next week’s practice.” The faintest pink brushed his cheeks. Hiro smiled and waved, shouting “bye!” as Sesshoumaru got out of the car. Hiro and his dad watched as he entered his house, making sure he was safely back home, before reversing out of the driveway.

“So,” Akio started. “He seemed nice.” He left the statement open ended, inviting his son to say whatever was undoubtedly on his mind.

“He’s so cool! He says he’s never played on the team before, but I was watching him and he was so good! He’s one of the fastest people on our team. I wonder if he practices a lot. Do you think we could play together? I mean outside of the team practices.” Hiro was gushing.

“That just sounds like a playdate where you go outside and kick a ball around” His dad smiled.

“Yeah! That sounds like so much fun, can I invite him over soon Dad? Please?”

Chuckling, his father agreed. Hiro cheered and continued to tell his father about his newest friend.

“He really liked the treehouse next door, I can’t wait to show it to him. Also he was really warm, I had to sit next to him when it was raining to share the rain jacket and I wasn’t cold at all. Do you think he’s always like that?” Hiro felt himself blush a little. “And he was telling me how he got to pick his own name! Isn’t that cool? I think he’s really neat.”

Hiro’s dad was fighting back a grin now. He glanced in the rearview mirror at his son, who was beaming while he was talking about Sesshoumaru. “Sounds like someone has a bit of a crush.”

He watched Hiro sputter. “What? I - No, Dad! I - he’s just really cool and pretty and I wanna be friends with him really bad, and, and..” Hiro trailed off, blushing furiously.

“It’s okay,” his father soothed. “Everyone gets crushes, it’s normal.”

Using the rearview mirror, he caught Hiro’s eye. “Okay,” Hiro admitted. “I guess I might have a crush.”

Akio smiled at his son. He was glad he felt comfortable talking to him about these things. “Do you want to ask him if he wants to hang out next weekend?”

Hiro’s broad grin answered the question for him.


	2. timeskip chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sesshoumaru and Hiro say goodbye, only to meet again several years later, after a needlessly dramatic time skip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for dheerse, as always

The week after Sesshoumaru met Hiro, he went over to Hiro’s house after soccer practice. And he went the next week, and again the week after that.  It fell into a routine and soon enough Hiro’s father wouldn’t even ask Sesshoumaru if he was coming with them anymore. He simply nodded at the boy as he clambered into the back of his van. After that first fateful day in the rain, the pair became inseparable. To Hiro’s delight, he learned that Sesshoumaru went to his school, and although the boys were in different classes, as soon as the lunch bell rang they would find each other, and they would stay together until recess ended and they reluctantly returned to their respective classes. 

Their friendship blossomed. Sesshoumaru would spend entire weekends at Hiro’s house, always happy so long as he was around his friend. Hiro’s father joked that he had a second son every other weekend, immensely glad that Hiro had such a strong connection to someone. Akio appreciated Sesshoumaru’s presence in his son’s life, it was clear to see how happy he made Hiro. Sesshoumaru, in turn, decided he liked Hiro’s father. He validated the children’s feelings and always treated him as someone who deserved to be taken seriously. It was a new feeling for Sesshoumaru. Sometimes, he found himself wishing that his own father was as warm and funny as Akio. Hiro and his father would welcome him into their home and always made him feel comfortable. It was so unlike his real father’s house, where he felt like a stranger half of the time. It was Hiro who kept him grounded in the early years of living with divorced parents and a new baby brother.

Hiro adored Sesshoumaru. This was clear to anyone who had ever seen the two of them together. He talked about him often, and anyone who knew Hiro well recognized the warm grin he wore whenever he thought about Sesshoumaru. His friend’s calming presence made Hiro feel as if everything was right with the world. It was a golden childhood, filled with excitement: kicking soccer balls into the neighbour’s yard, racing their bikes down the street, and staying up too late telling each other secrets in hushed whispers. Hiro confessed to Sesshoumaru that he had no memories of his mother, and was afraid he was missing out. Sesshoumaru, eyes wide, told Hiro that he’s felt replaced ever since his little brother was born.

This childhood was almost perfect, but as all childhoods must do, this one ended.

It happened abruptly one night. A drunk driver crashed headlong into a red convertible, sending a father of two to the hospital in critical condition. The driver himself died instantly, but the father… the father held on for nearly two days. It was enough time for the separate pieces of his family to say goodbye. A crying, confused toddler and a quiet, unreadable boy of ten both came in to sit by the dying man’s bedside.

After he passed, his family grew even more splintered. The mothers of both his children moved away, abandoning the town that all of them had called home and leaving his bones alone in the cold ground. 

Sesshoumaru took his father’s loss hard. Hiro didn’t even know he had passed until several days after the fact, hearing the news from his father instead of Sesshoumaru. It wasn’t hard to tell something was wrong, his best friend was stony-eyed and never looked at him for very long. When Hiro talked to him it was as though he wasn’t even there. So the boy had known something was the matter, but didn’t know what. When his father had broken the news, Hiro felt sick. He wanted to be there for his friend, to offer him support and empathy but he had no idea how to do that. In his grief, Sesshoumaru seemed to be pushing him away. Hiro felt hurt, confused, and scared that this would change things between them.

When Sesshoumaru told Hiro that he was moving away, Hiro was stunned. This was Sesshoumaru, his  _ best friend _ , and he couldn’t believe he was leaving. Of course they had been drifting apart since his father died, but that was just grief. They would be close again, Hiro told himself. They would be as they used to. 

When Hiro came home that night, he cried for hours. His father consoled him, trying to find words to bring Hiro some comfort, but not finding any. Akio’s heart ached for his son.

On the day Sesshoumaru moved, Hiro came to say goodbye. At the sight of the moving van and all his friend’s things in boxes, he burst into tears. He gave Sesshoumaru a piece of paper, on which he’d written his phone number, (unnecessary, since the boys had each other’s home phones memorized,) and begged him to call once in a while.

“I’ll miss you,” he sniffled as he gave Sesshoumaru one final hug.

“I know.” Sesshoumaru said, wrapping his arms around his friend. After a long pause: “I’ll miss you too.”

As Sesshoumaru’s car pulled away, he could see Hiro waving. His best friend stayed there, waving, long past the moving van and the car carrying Sesshoumaru had vanished from sight.

 

The years that followed were the hardest in Sesshoumaru’s young life. Alone with his mother, he struggled to fit in at a new school and in his new soccer team. Grief was his constant companion, but he didn’t know how to process it. The loss of his father, his role model, his everything, hit him hard and stayed burning in the back of his mind for years. Eventually, the other children learned to avoid him, rather than try to express their condolences for the death of a man who had meant so much to him. 

Sesshoumaru thought about that night almost obsessively. He had been ten years old, and of an age where his imagination would run away without him unless he paid attention. The last time he had seen his father before the accident, he had shouted at him. His father had to spend half an hour calming him down before explaining why he couldn’t spend time with him this weekend like they had planned. They were going to go out of town to see a soccer game, and visit with people his father played with back when he was still on the national team. Weekend visits were supposed to be their special time together, Sesshoumaru had insisted. They had been looking forward to this for ages. He waited all week to spend time with his father, he didn’t want him to leave now, but his father had been firm. Izayoi needed a babysitter, so his father would have to cut their visit short. Sesshoumaru remembered being dropped off at his mother’s house, much to his (and his mother’s) disappointment. He stamped his foot as his father brought him inside. He had run back out to the porch, reluctant to leave, and was only calmed down when his father promised to visit him next weekend instead. Sesshoumaru held onto that promise when he saw his father lying in the hospital bed. “You can’t go,” he thought. “You promised you would see me next weekend.”

Ever since that day, Sesshoumaru had spent hours thinking of what could have been. If he had acted differently, would his father still be alive? If he had been more insistent and hadn’t let him cancel their trip. If he had agreed immediately to be taken home without making a fuss. If he hadn’t let his father leave him for his little brother. He felt a seed of resentment for Inuyasha begin to grow inside him. He had seen his little brother maybe half a dozen times since their father’s funeral. He doubted Inuyasha would even recognize him.

Family was not an easy subject for Sesshoumaru. His mother had never been warmhearted, but after her ex-husband died, he saw her become outright unkind. Caring for Sesshoumaru all by herself was more than she signed up for, and was only doing it because she had to. This what what she told him on many occasions, that his mother truly did not want to take care of him. She would provide for him and pay someone to look after him, but she was not maternal. She came to comfort him only once after his father passed, never outright saying that Sesshoumaru should get over him as quickly as possible, but nevertheless implying it. “What did he ever do for you?” Her eyes seemed to be asking. “What did he have that I don’t?” Sesshoumaru knew better than to answer. He quickly learned that appeasing his mother was a crucial part of everyday life. Sesshoumaru stopped feeling comfortable around her. Whenever he was around her, he felt as though she was blaming him for something. It was worse when she was around other people. She would show off her freak of a child, confessing to people who didn't even know him how hard it was to love a daughter  _ like him. “ _ I am your mother,” her words said,  “and I love you more than anyone else does.”  _ More than anyone ought to _ , was what Sesshoumaru was hearing. And her actions told him “It hurts me that you are not an affectionate child, but I will tolerate it because I am better than you.” 

So Sesshoumaru closed himself off, not telling her anything about himself on those rare times she thought to ask. As he grew older he became unfamiliar with emotional intimacy. His memories of being close to people were slowly blurring, becoming unrecognizable. after six years of living with his mother, he decided he had to leave. When he told her he wanted to move out,she put up a fuss,but like all her other displays of maternal attention, it was superficial and Sesshoumaru could see through it immediately. when it became clear that she was having no effect on Sesshoumaru, her words became cruel. “am I not doing enough for you?” she accused. “it's been hard for me too, raising you all by myself. have you ever stopped to think of that?” He stood by as she called him ungrateful and selfish, claiming he only wanted to leave to hurt her. Sesshoumaru endured this onslaught as he always did, with steely eyes never quite meeting his mother's. The next month, he left. He found an apartment and moved his things over in the back of his mother's borrowed car, paying rent in his father's life insurance money. His mother would support him too, occasionally sending money or things he didn't need. They were still distant, and ill at ease as mother and son, but their relationship improved once Sesshoumaru moved out. He transferred to a new high school, deciding to spend his final year in a new environment. It didn't bother him that he was leaving everyone he knew, as he was close with none of them. He registered for classes and joined the soccer team purely out of habit.

And that was when he met Hiro again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i meant for this to just be a oneshot but dheerse has so many good ideas that i jsut had to write them all out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not paying attention in math class is good for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i definitely forgot that i wrote this ;a;  
> sorry about that, i'll try and be more on top of my shit

This high school was remarkably similar to all the other ones Sesshoumaru had been to. There were lockers lining the halls and students everywhere. They all ignored him, for the most part, and he was grateful for that.  After half a dozen years spent trying to avoid his peers, Sesshoumaru had gotten quite good at it. He ducked into a classroom as a large group of sports kids made their way down the hall. He didn’t know if any of them were on the soccer team, but from how they were behaving, he wanted to limit his interaction with them. He stayed in the room until the band of obnoxious athletes had passed, then resumed his search for his math classroom. This school was poorly designed, with three storeys and a courtyard, and adjacent annexes and hallways that had been tacked on later. To add to the confusion, half of the west wing was being renovated, which meant several classes had to be moved elsewhere. All in all, it was a very easy building to get lost in. Sesshoumaru climbed yet another set of stairs, looking for room 308. It was a 300 level, which meant it had to be on the third floor, he told himself, but looking around, he only saw room 312 through 320. If he was a more expressive person he would have scowled. He continued in search of his class for the next several minutes before spotting a hallway that he had overlooked when he walked past before. The layout of this school was ridiculous, he thought. He ducked into the almost empty hallway as the bell chimed, then found himself following a hastily put together sign saying “rooms 304-310 moved to the annexes.”

Letting out a short, frustrated sigh, Sesshoumaru followed the sign to the end of the hallway and down the stairs to the annexes standing outside the main building. By then he was decidedly late for class, but he wasn't inclined to care.

When he did finally arrive at the right class, his teacher was in the middle of her opening speech. The door had been left open and he slipped in as quietly as he could, taking a window seat in the second row. 

His math teacher was a short middle aged woman who wore her hair in a bun and liked to fiddle with the loose strands as she spoke. She needed to dye it again, Sesshoumaru observed. Her roots did not match the rest of her hair, which was a shocking, faded red. Sesshoumaru decided he didn't care for it; it should go without saying that Sesshoumaru preferred a more tasteful look. 

He was paying more attention to the flaws in his teacher's outfit than the class itself, missing a significant portion of the lecture. It didn't particularly matter. He didn’t need to take pre-calculus, but he was good at it. Sesshoumaru decided it in his best interest to spend his last year of high school studying things he was good at. 

The teacher was concise and finished her welcome quickly, which he appreciated. W hen as she was done going through the syllabus, she launched into the first lesson, much to the dismay of many of his classmates.  As the teacher reviewed the foundations of pre-calculus, he doodled idly in the margins. Soon, half the page was filled with geometric shapes.

Between drawing on his notes and his teacher's poor fashion sense, Sesshoumaru didn't notice the attention he was getting from one of his classmates. A boy, nearly a man, was staring at him from  a desk across the aisle. Sesshoumaru had caught his eye when he came in late, and if Sesshoumaru had felt like paying attention to his classmates, he would have noticed the boy's friends teasing him for staring.

When the bell rang, Sesshoumaru calmly put his notebooks away, ignoring the calamity caused by his other classmates. He was halfway out the door when he heard someone call his name. Turning, Sesshoumaru saw one of his classmates staring at him. On his desk, the boy's books were in disarray, as if he had scattered them in his hurry to get out of the class.

“Yes?” 

“It's really you, isn't it? I had to make sure. It's been so long!”

Sesshoumaru nodded, confused. Who was this person? He couldn't place him. Sesshoumaru tried to recall if he knew anyone who looked like the man in front of him. His classmate was tall, over six feet, with dark brown skin and stubble that was trying hard to be a beard. Maybe they had briefly been in the same school? Sesshoumaru had changed schools so much that he forgot most of the people he met. Perhaps this person had good memory of people who he never spoke to.

“When you moved away I was sure I'd never see you again! And now we're in the same high school. this is just like third grade all over again. Are you joining the soccer team here too?” 

Oh.

“Hiro?” Sesshoumaru said, astonished. If truth be told, he was never expecting to see him again either. Looking closer, he could recognize his old friend. He was taller and more muscular now, but he still had the same smile.

“You've grown. I remember being taller than you.”

Hiro grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I get that a lot.” There was almost a foot's difference in height between them now.

“But you haven't changed at all! I mean, you grew, of course, but you look the same as the last time I saw you. How have you been?”

“I'm good. I've moved out of my mother's house. And yourself?”

“Good! I'm good. I-”

The sound of a bell chiming cut Hiro off.

“Shit, we've got to get going,” he said, gathering up the notes strewn about his desk. Sesshoumaru watched as Hiro shoved his notebook into his bag, wondering if he should help.

“What's your next class?”

Sesshoumaru told him, double checking his class schedule. Chemistry. Although he was sorely tempted to skip class.

“Let me walk you there. The school can be hard to navigate.”

Sesshoumaru appreciated this; he had not been looking forward to getting lost on his way to every class.

His first day passed quickly. After reconnecting with Hiro, Sesshoumaru got his phone number and spent the rest of his classes conspicuously texting him. About this, Sesshoumaru did not feel guilty. Hiro was vastly more interesting than any of his subjects.

Talking to Hiro was as easy as it had always been. At first, he could feel Hiro’s anxiety. While they were on their way to class, Hiro had been worried he and Sesshoumaru were too different now, that they could not resume their old friendship. He didn't outright say it, but something in how Hiro carried himself told Sesshoumaru that was an anxiety that he was having. After an hour of texting however, the two became more comfortable with each other. It was an easy back and forth that reminded Sesshoumaru of when they were children.

Sesshomaru remembered being able to connect with Hiro in a way he never managed with anyone else ever again. Whether it was the way Hiro's way of getting him to talk or their unspoken understandings he didn't know, but as he kept up the silent conversation during class, he began to recall something unfamiliar. He realized, after a few hours of conversation, that he had missed this. Hiro’s companionship had been one of his anchors in his early years. Sesshoumaru found himself thinking that he should have tried harder to keep in touch after he left. Hiro would have helped him through the hard time with his mother.

It was no use looking back on what he should have done though. Hiro was back in his life again, and Sesshoumaru hoped to revive their old friendship.

-

-

Hiro had similar, but not identical desires. When he saw Sesshoumaru sitting across from him, he thought he must have been imagining it. His first thought had been this couldn’t be his childhood friend, but upon looking closer he realized it had to be true. Sesshoumaru’s face had grown more angular now, and his hair was longer, but he carried himself the same way he had his entire life, exuding pride and an indifference close to disdain. His next thought was how  _ beautiful  _ Sesshoumaru had become. Hiro vividly remembered his longstanding crush on his friend, and how at nine years old he thought Sesshoumaru was remarkably pretty. Now, at nearly eighteen, he could hardly believe he knew someone so breathtaking. Sesshoumaru had commanded his attention the minute he stepped into the classroom. Hiro’s staring didn’t go unnoticed, and his friends quickly began to tease him. Hiro tried brushing them off, worried that Sesshoumaru might hear them talking about him, but that only made their teasing worse. Eventually, they left him alone, which allowed him to go up and introduce himself. Hiro was so glad he had the courage to talk to Sesshoumaru. Reuniting with his childhood friend made his day, no, scratch that, it made his whole week. 

He was still in high spirits when he returned home later that day, phone in hand.

“You look chipper,” his father noted. “How was your first day of school?”

Hiro looked up at him, smiling. “Dad,” he began. “Do you remember Sesshoumaru?”

Recognition flashed in Akio's eyes. “My second son?” He joked. “Of course I remember him.” He paused, giving space for Hiro to say whatever was on his mind.

“He's in my math class!” Hiro blurted, terribly excited. “I sit next to him and he gave me his phone number. I was texting him and do you think I could invite him over sometime? Like, not now obviously but maybe next weekend?”

His father smiled. “Of course. How is he? It's been years since I heard anything about him.”

Akio recognized the deep breath Hiro took before he launched into a topic he felt passionate about.

“He's moved out of his mom's house. He said he lives alone in an apartment above a flower shop, and he rides a motorbike to school. How cool is that?”

“Very cool. The coolest.” Akio acknowledged.

“And he said he was going to join the soccer team again! I know that I said I was going to take a break this year, but I can focus on school and soccer at the same time, right?” Hiro looked to his dad hopefully. This was a little unexpected, but it wasn't bad. 

“It’s up to you,” his father said. Hiro's expression brightened. “You're old enough to decide your own schedule. If you think you can handle being on the team as well as being in your last year of high school, then do it.” his tone was matter of fact. “And of course, if you need help with anything, just ask. that's what dads are here for, you know.” He grinned. Hiro gave him a similar smile, glad his father was so supportive. Thoughts of playing on the same team as Sesshoumaru carried him through the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im very happy for my boys <3
> 
> leaving a comment/sending me an ask on tumblr is a good way to keep me encouraged to continue writing!  
> tenseigaa.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> ask me about hiro, i love him like my own son  
> tenseigaa.tumblr.com


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